Myth: The Austrian School of Economics is "apart and above"
mainstream economics.

Fact: The Austrian School is a classic example of crank science.

Summary

The Austrian School of Economics is a tiny group of
libertarians at war with mainstream economics. They reject even the scientific method that
mainstream economists use, preferring to use instead a pre-scientific approach that shuns
real-world data and is based purely on logical assumptions. But this is the very method
that thousands of religions use when they argue their opposing beliefs, and
the fact that the world has thousands of religions proves the fallibility of
this approach. Academia has generally ignored the Austrian School, and the only reason
it continues to exist is because it is financed by wealthy business donors
on the far right. The movement does not exist on its own scholarly merits.

Argument

To describe and critique an entire school of economic thought in one short essay
is impossible. Therefore, we'll do it in several short essays.